The Access to Excellence scholarship campaign is made headway during its first year.

The foundations affiliated with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities raised nearly $17.4 million in scholarship gifts during the first year of the scholarship campaign, 74 percent ahead of its first year goal of $10 million.

In the 2013–2014 academic year, about 13,500 students benefited from scholarships.

“We are tremendously grateful to all of the donors who gave generously to help our students,” said Steven Rosenstone, MnSCU chancellor, in a press release. “These scholarships make it possible for thousands of students across the state to stay in school and complete their degrees with little or no debt.”

The Access to Excellence campaign is one element in MnSCU’s ongoing commitment to remain the state’s highest value, most affordable higher education option.

Tuition and fees at MnSCU are lower than other options, and because scholarships and other forms of financial aid are readily available, MnSCU students graduate with less debt than their counterparts at other colleges and universities in Minnesota.

For FY2015, tuition at MnSCU campuses remains frozen at FY2013 levels.